Kate Robertson

Kevin Burke is still waiting for right buyer for his Essendon house. Photo: Luis Enrique Ascui

This year, about 70,000 properties in Melbourne will change hands, or about 1300 to 1400 a week. The figure is in line with last year's 71,868 sales but far below the 100,027 sold in 2009's hot market.

Robert Larocca from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria says the market is ''calm and stable'', with little change expected in capital growth or stock levels. But how calm and stable does it appear to those in the thick of buying and selling? The Age spoke to three vendors and buyers about their recent experiences in Melbourne's real estate market.

Tim Robinson

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Tim Robinson, 34, and partner Shannon Ryan were holidaying in Hobart when Mr Robinson's father phoned through the news they had become property owners.

The couple had been searching for their first home together for six weeks and had been keen on a two-bedroom property in Brunswick East, but thought it would be out of their price range.

Mr Robinson says that in the inner north, where they were looking to buy, most vendors were opting for auctions, which left little room for tough negotiation.

''The talk around town is about the downturn with cheap prices but we found it to be the opposite - the properties that had a bit of an X factor were going well above the amounts we thought,'' he says. ''There was a lot of competition and the prices went high for those.'' The properties that were ''just OK'' were the ones being passed in, he says. ''Sellers who were in a position where they didn't really need to sell were happy to pass them in.

''It was a market at two ends; things that needed work were being ignored.''

So, with little faith that they would be able to buy the semi-detached Brunswick East terrace, the couple were happy to head to Tasmania and give Mr Robinson's dad the task of bidding on their behalf.

Mr Robinson says he was pleased and surprised to get the news his father had bought the house on a cloudy day in the middle of the school holidays.

''We gave him the limit and said, 'We don't think we will get it but have a crack.'

''He seemed to enjoy spending other people's money.''

Mr Robinson previously owned a property in Hoppers Crossing, but sold it three years ago.

''I timed it well from both ends and it's a bit of an upgrade to East Brunswick from Hoppers Crossing.''

Kevin Burke

Since his renovated Edwardian house passed in at auction in September, Kevin Burke is cynical about the idea that Melbourne is in the grips of a buyer's market: ''They say it's a buyer's market, but I think there are not that many buyers.''

Mr Burke bought the two-bedroom house in Essendon in 1989 and planned to sell it and buy a family house to make a fresh start in Richmond with his partner and her three children.

''If I was selling to make a profit, it's not the best time, but I'm not. I'm ready to move, so it's not a great concern because I'm buying at the same time.''

Mr Burke renovated the house and spoke to agents about its value before setting a reserve he thought was reasonable. However, it was passed in three weeks ago with only one bidder, who offered $150,000 less than Mr Burke was prepared to accept.

''It's a property that is well under $1 million, so that's quite a large discrepancy,'' Mr Burke says. ''I had an enormous number of people through but I think they are thinking they are going to pick up something for a ridiculous price. I have had people saying to me, 'I love your home, I want to buy it', but then they didn't bid,'' he says.

The two-bedroom is unusual in an area noted for large family houses and Mr Burke says he is sure he just needs to wait for the right buyer. ''I just have to stand strong and trust my instincts.''

As a potential buyer himself, Mr Burke hasn't yet found anything suitable in Richmond, bargain or not. ''I've been looking for a year; good property still commands a good price. You have to be prepared to pay for quality,'' he says.

''Agents have told me listings are down 50 per cent on this time last year, but after the grand final there's been a lot more.''

Mr Burke says agents have told him to let them know when he is in a position to buy because they have been approached by people keen to sell quietly to interested buyers. ''There could be the possibility of a hidden market.''

Charlie Kinross

Charlie Kinross' family survived the vendor's nightmare of not a single bid at auction. The family sold a three-bedroom Pascoe Vale house in June for $5000 less than their reserve after receiving an offer after the auction.

The property, which had been an investment, was in a good location but was in need of renovation, Mr Kinross says. ''We actually did quite well considering everything that was going on in the market,'' he says.

''We got five grand under the reserve, but that reserve was pretty wishful thinking. I think it was a bad time to sell, but we just happened to get lucky. There were places that looked better around that area that were selling for less than we did. We were lucky to have a keen buyer. It might be a bit of an exception for the market at that time.''

With his share of the proceeds, Mr Kinross and his partner bought a renovated, two-bedroom apartment in Collingwood in a block of six.

Mr Kinross says that in the three months they looked for an apartment, the market was clearly losing momentum. ''A lot of people were asking for prices they just weren't getting, and they were getting passed in, and places stayed on the market for a while. The place we got, we weren't even expecting to get it … we almost didn't turn up to the auction just thinking it was out of our range because another apartment in that block sold a few months before for $465,000 and it was not as nice. This one in the same block got passed in for $400,000 and we ended up getting it for $430,000.''

Despite the falling market, Mr Kinross says there were occasions when prices went far higher than expected. ''We went through a one-bedroom apartment and they were quoting $360,000 to $390,000 and they sold it for $467,000 - for a little place in Carlton.

''But I do think it's a good time to buy. You can find bargains - I almost got caught up in it once we bought. I wanted to keep looking.''

28 comments so far

The plural of anecdote is not data. What a useless article.

Commenter

Lesser Fool

Location

Date and time

October 31, 2012, 2:32PM

It shows how desperate the RE spruikers are getting. Warm and fuzzy feeling feelgood stories. "I goit the price I was looking for...""If you look hard enough you'll find a house with the X-factor"That last one cracks me up! How much does X-factor appreciate by!?! Utter nonsense. These are sure signs the market is heading south and the slope is getting more slippery.

Commenter

Shaden Freudian

Location

Date and time

October 31, 2012, 8:30PM

"Domain finds out what buyers and sellers think about the market"

What were you hoping for clicking on this article? It never promised data.

Commenter

Jen

Location

Date and time

November 01, 2012, 8:24AM

Mr Kinross thinks he has done well in paying $430,000 for a "renovated 2 bedroom apartment" in Collingwood. I'd reserve my judgement until I know the actual floor space. The one that really cracked up was the 1 bedroom apartment in Carlton that sold for $467,000. All this when there will be a glut very soon in CBD apartments. Bring it on.

Commenter

hbloz

Location

Date and time

November 01, 2012, 12:41PM

@Jen yes, I was being a bit cheeky with my comment. My first reply to you got rejected, I think because I put too fine a point on why we DON'T see more indepth, substantive articles regarding the property market in this publication.

Commenter

Lesser Fool

Location

Date and time

November 01, 2012, 4:32PM

Articles on Real Estate, such as this one, are all always about Melbourne. What about us country people? We have a beautiful home that has been on the market for 18 months, with no buyers in sight at the moment. Why is it that country homes are never discussed? Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, one acre of beautiful garden - all for about $300,000. What's happening? Or NOT happening?

Commenter

Disey

Location

Gippsland

Date and time

October 31, 2012, 2:33PM

I agree. However my heart is where my home is and not in the market, but do agree immensely with your sentiment.Have thought at times to buy another property as an investment, hence the reason I read ( and at weird times due to insomnia).Rural areas are largely forgotten, yet there are so many opportunities.Even when rural does get a mention it is all still focused on near Melb aka within commuting distance. Forgotten as per usual.As people are embracing the Internet to work, live and play country/rural properties will become more so valuable. just wait till the NBN, a boom time for rural/regional places.But obviously the media is still playing catch up.

Commenter

Yepk

Location

Date and time

November 01, 2012, 5:03AM

"...all for about $300,000"what do you mean by about?, is it $300,000 or not? If you are serious about selling you need to state your price upfront otherwise buyer like myself won't waste time.Also 300K for an acre in Gippsland is too expensive when one can purchase an acre in say Research (30kms for melb) for under $500k.

Commenter

e2

Location

Date and time

November 01, 2012, 10:00AM

Everyone thinks their home is awesome, you either take it off the market or drop the price.

Commenter

mark

Location

Date and time

November 01, 2012, 10:56AM

"Kevin Burke is cynical about the idea that Melbourne is in the grips of a buyer's market: ''They say it's a buyer's market, but I think there are not that many buyers.''

Hilarious. Upside-down, back-to-front. Relatively, if there are more sellers than buyers, then it's a buyer's market. Also...

"Mr Burke says agents ... have been approached by people keen to sell QUIETLY ... 'There could be the possibility of a hidden market.''

Really? Vendor's want to keep their sale a secret! That helps sell a house how? So funny. What is he smoking?